Professional Educators, ASSEMBLE!

[word]

As an educator, what motivated you to apply for JET?

I had all sorts of misconceptions about Japanese students, primarily based on my experience with Japanese exchange students at my college and the highly inaccurate, yet typical American stereotypes of Japan's education system, so I figured that teaching in Japan would be easier and more pleasant than teaching in the US. I wanted to become a well-rounded, more effective and interesting teacher, and I saw JET as an opportunity to broaden my cultural horizons. Also, it was a damned good employment opportunity, and the job market in America wasn't exactly awesome, even in education fields. It was a chance to make and save a little money, go overseas, and live a little before I was forced to settle into some kind of boring existence.

As an educator, what are your impressions of the Japanese education system?

It's a mixed bag. There are some aspects of Japan's education system that I love and feel are far superior to Western techniques. These are the things I came here to learn; I plan on taking the best that Japan has to offer its students back home with me when I return. There are other aspects of Japan's education system that are appallingly frustrating and counterproductive, things that just make me want to grab the teacher and shake him/her, screaming "WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU???"

Are there any kernels of truth to the Japanese education system being superior to other nations?

Sure. As I said above, it's a mixed bag. There are other truths that will make you think Japan is so DUM and backwards, it's a wonder the entire country hasn't collapsed into anarchy.

Oh darlings, please take off your rose-tinted glasses about the Japanese educational system and the students. It is not everything you've heard it is...

[Lots of good stuff]

...as with every school environment it can all depend on who the JTE is for that class. I have some classes where the JTE is awesome and the students are so enthusiastic and engaged in their learning...and then I have other JTEs who are more interested in flirting with the students than teaching them. But please do not come in thinking everything is going to be all kittens and rainbows and excellent students.

WORD. Especially that last part. The teacher, as always, makes all the difference in the world. I have one JTE who absolutely refuses to do any kind of creative activities, teaches the New Crown curriculum in the most unimaginably boring manner possible, requires tests and study materials that I make to be dumbed down to ridiculous levels, etc. I have another JTE who pushes creative use of English constantly; he's a fantastic teacher and his students' abilities reflect his commitment and drive. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of accountability amongst Japanese educators; there are difficult, rigorous tests required to acquire one's teaching certification, but once one is a teacher, there doesn't seem to be any accountability regarding student outcomes and achievement. I don't know much about this, though.

"Demonstration lessons" (observed by co-workers, parents, etc.) here are one of the most ridiculous things you'll ever see in your life. They are meticulously planned; my "not-so-great" JTE goes so far as to practice her "demonstration lessons" once or twice with the students before she actually has the real lesson.

and then I have other JTEs who are more interested in flirting with the students

Oh gross!!! Good lord! And they get away with that? In broad daylight?

LOL Especially in High School, it doesn't seem to be much of a concern. I suspect this is a reflection of the manner in which Japanese students are treated as competent individuals capable of making reasonably intelligent choices and learning from their mistakes when they fail to do so. This is one of the aspects about Japan's education system that I rather admire, and one that I feel we, in the west, could learn from.

The only thing I'M worried about is physical aggression. When you go through your ED classes they never mention anything about that. It's all "Don't touch the kids. Don't touch the kids! DON'T TOuCH THE KIDS! Oh yeah and let the intervention team handle child violence." So that's what I'm unsure of.

Then maybe you'd better not come to Japan. It is quite likely that a young child may attempt to insert his or her index fingers into your rectum at some point, and believe it or not, you'll probably find yourself attempting to stop them from doing so.

One thing I've noticed here is the physicality of students and teachers...let alone the fact that the students are incredibly INCREDIBLY touchy feely with each other (I'll often walk into a class to see at least three boys sitting one each other's laps with their arms around their waists like no big deal). It seems to be okay for teachers to give a kid a smack on the head to reprimand them of something or to tug them around somewhere. Coming from an educational system where it's all about NO PHYSICAL TOUCHING it's a little bit different. However, it does mean that I can now poke students awake (but that is the extent of the touching I allow).

Since coming here, I've smacked kids with books (not hard, just playfully, of course), poked them, pulled them, and, on occasion, been forced to wrestle them off when they attempt to vigorously grope my dong. One of my ES classes regularly wants me to play "Rodeo" with them (they get on my back and I try to buck them off (playfully)). The first time I showed up at pre-school, three boys came running out of the bathroom stark naked and latched onto my legs, while the teachers just LOLed. The rules are different here; touching does not necessarily equate sexual, violent, or otherwise inappropriate contact in Japan. This took some getting used to, but I find it preferable to the stand-offish, cold, prudish attitude that we seem to have embraced in the West.

One thing that Japan does really well is giving students that sense of responsibility and pride in their school. Their uniforms are pretty much immaculate, their classrooms tidy (since they have to tidy it all themselves) and they are very helpful towards the teachers. They also spend a lot of time at school with their clubs and extra study, with a lot of students and teachers working all through their lunch time and well to 7-8 at night on eiken practice and examination preparation.

WORD. School cleaning times are ingenious. It's all for show; half the time, the kids are just waving a broom around, sweeping nonexistent dirt, or wiping dirty water all over the floor with a disgustingly gross rag, but it's a fantastic way to motivate the kids to keep the school clean. Why throw trash on the floor or track mud in when you might be the one cleaning it later? Why spray the toilet seat with errant waste when you might be the one scrubbing it later? Why doodle on your desk when you'll just have to wipe it off that afternoon? Brilliant!

The extra time thing... mmm, I'm on the fence about it. For clubs and study, I understand. Most teachers stay late, however, because it's expected. One of my eikaiwa students claims that all Japan used to be this way; that a good, productive worker was one who stayed until late every evening, working hard. I explained that in America, a teacher who stays late every day is probably a poor teacher, because he/she is inefficient and budgeting his/her time poorly. Long working hours do not necessarily indicate a good employee, in other words. The eikwaiwa student agreed with me and explained that in most professions in Japan, in recent times, employees are judged on their efficiency and productivity, not necessarily the hours they put in. For some inexplicable reason, this has NOT happened in the teaching field.

This has resulted in some absolutely ridiculous consequences. I often see teachers, during the day, wasting time, goofing off, doing little, then, at night, working furiously in an attempt to look busy. A teacher will waste hours putting together a single worksheet that shouldn't take more than twenty or thirty minutes on a computer, at most.

Oh, boy, don't even get me started on the lack of computer literacy here. Some (certainly not all) Japanese teachers are absolutely appallingly computer-illiterate. I don't even think my school secretary at my home school is capable of successfully opening, editing, and printing a Word document.

When I worked with kindergartners as a high schooler...the "no touching" thing was never really emphasized - it was just obvious. No normal person goes up and touches people they don't really know anyway. Why would you touch some kid you don't know? Pedo much? :<

I actually used to think this way, but now, I realize that this way of thinking is culturally biased, and, in hindsight, is just pathetic. How sad is it that we Westerners have gotten to the point where we see any sort of physical contact in a sexual light? I now find such cultural attitudes disturbing and foolish, despite the fact that I once considered them self-evident.*

*It is still totally awkward to run into my students in an onsen, especially if they are of the opposite sex, and even more especially when they yell "WORD-SENSEI!!!!" and attempt to tackle me while naked.

[Cytrix]

A whole bunch of awesomeness

Word, Word.

[dtrue]

Is there anyone on here that is currently a certified teacher? I have been teaching middle school science for the last 6 years and am realizing how rare my situation may be. I love teaching but am begining to hit my wall with the education system in my home state....one of the lowest in the whole US. I am hoping to get a different/new perspective on teaching strategies. Does Japan have a system similar to NCLB?

How often are you in the classroom as an ALT? I understand you are at different schools in most cases but do you visit the same classroom or are you more like a C/C or specialist teacher who floats?

[nicklar]

ESID but I saw every class in my junior high school once or twice a week. I also visited local kindergartens and primary schools one day a week.

[AVN]

ESID but I saw every class in my junior high school once or twice a week. I also visited local kindergartens and primary schools one day a week.

Yeah... ESID...
I teach at 11 schools and an After School Club. so I spend two full days at a JHS and float the other three days.

[word]

Is there anyone on here that is currently a certified teacher?

Yes, although I don't quite have your level of experience teaching in the 'States.

I have been teaching middle school science for the last 6 years and am realizing how rare my situation may be. I love teaching but am begining to hit my wall with the education system in my home state....one of the lowest in the whole US. I am hoping to get a different/new perspective on teaching strategies. Does Japan have a system similar to NCLB?

Not really, no. I'm certainly no expert, and probably not qualified to accurately describe the Japanese educational system, but if I can give a very, very basic assessment, it goes something like this:

The Ministry of Education makes recommendations to the nation as a whole in regards to education. Each prefecture makes recommendations to the local boards of education. The local boards of education make recommendations to their schools and teachers. Each school does their best to follow these recommendations, but there is no real penalty for failing to do so, other than being griped at, which, in Japan, is considered a pretty severe punishment, especially if it's a public griping.

The local boards of education actually have most of the decision-making power, it seems. The level of accountability in regards to student outcomes seems to depend mostly on each BoE and each school, the teachers, students, and parents themselves, but, generally speaking, it is often near non-existent. In Japan, students will graduate JHS no matter what their test scores, abilities, and skills (or lack thereof). It is common in larger cities for ALTs to suddenly see students they have never met before appearing in March, just before graduation--the student may have skipped every day of class for the previous year(s), yet, because he is on the school roster, he may show up and graduate. You may remember that story a while back about a student who stabbed another student to death, yet still graduated from that school? Yeah, it was 'cause the school had no choice--they MUST graduate every student. (Interestingly enough, they weren't going to graduate the deceased victim, on account of the fact that she was no longer alive, but eventually did, due to a public outcry.)

A great deal of responsibility for student outcomes is placed, sometimes unfairly, imho, on the shoulders of individual teachers--particularly by parents. Japanese teachers are quite familiar with the "monster parent" phenomenon. The stress on new teachers is incredible, and probably the cause of this sort of thing:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20111120a1.html

All that said, most teachers in my school (I certainly can't speak for every school and teacher in Japan) take their jobs incredibly seriously and put forth valiant efforts to prepare their students as best they can. Well, most teachers do, anyway. They meet every week to discuss their students' progress, outcomes, problems, etc. They are heavily involved in their students' lives, sometimes far more than the parents. They are committed and sincere.

There are some things I do not like about the way they teach students, but I am an assistant here. On the totem pole of influence, I am somewhere between the lady who comes to sell bread and the guy who delivers boxes, I think. It has sometimes been quite frustrating for me--I have all this training and experience as a teacher, yet I am often not taken seriously as an educator because I am not Japanese. This largely depends on the teacher and individual in question, of course; one of my JTEs thinks I am one of the greatest teachers ever to set foot in a classroom; another apparently thinks I am the most worthless sack of foreign crap ever to set foot in Japan. There are important cultural differences in the way students are treated and taught; sometimes, I really appreciate the way Japan does things, other times, I start feelin' like Wayne Brady just might have to choke a b*tch.

For example, I have a student with special needs. My school is very, very good about inclusion, which I definitely support... but they do very, very little to accommodate him; he is expected to keep pace with the other students, and he cannot. As a result, he has, in his third year, lost all motivation to work or study. He acts out, ignores his teachers, and harasses the other students. It's shameful, because he is, without question, one of my most innovative, most creative, and friendliest students. The Japanese school system (more than that, I think it's Japanese culture--"the nail that sticks out" and all that) has failed him.

Of course, I could rattle off similar examples from my experiences in the US, too, so please don't think I'm getting all "F* Japan!" on you. I do think, especially in recent years, that the US is doing a much better job of monitoring and attempting to improve student outcomes, but, as any country--we've got a long, long way to go.

How often are you in the classroom as an ALT? I understand you are at different schools in most cases but do you visit the same classroom or are you more like a C/C or specialist teacher who floats?

I see my home school JHS classes three times a week, usually. I see my visit school JHS classes once a week (actually, I recently requested a schedule change in order to see my 3rd-year JHS kids twice a week, and my JTE went for it, which is awesome--it's more work, but I love my visit school JHS kids). I see my home school ES kids once a month. I see my visit school ES kids once a week. It's a screwy system, but it works for them, and I try to be as flexible as possible.

I am more like a specialist teacher who floats; the way that I am treated, however, really just depends on the school in question. My visit school JTE is extremely effective in the manner in which he utilizes me. My home school JTE could replace me with a cd player and a secretary; I do not feel that I am utilized effectively at all at my home school (not in the classroom, anyway; outside of the classroom, I consider it my personal responsibility to do all I can to improve the students' language abilities).

[dtrue]

Wow! Thanks for the insight guys. Most of the so called horror stories in Japan are nothing that far off from where I teach now. Classes of over 40 middle schoolers, no real discipline by the admins, rules and objectives no one follows, and a principal that keeps wondering why we can't make AYP! I am ready for a big change but I do know that it will be very hard for me to just stand aside and let the class go crazy. I guess I really will have to learn to bite my tongue. Hopefully we will find out the interview list soon and I can stop stressing.

[Theatrefreak]

Hi everyone,

I am a newly graduated teacher in Canada as of August of last year. As anyone would, I have indicated this on my application. I am sure this will be brought up in my interview. I am concerned as to what they will want to talk about. As of right now I don't really know too much about the way the Japanese Education System is conducted. I have been looking up information in the past month. What types of questions do you think that they will bring up to certified teachers? I haven't read through all the posts yet but I will. Also does any one have in links to any information about the Japanese Education System just so I could familiarize myself with them? Thanks!

[Sendai_Momiji]

The stress on new teachers is incredible, and probably the cause of this sort of thing:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20111120a1.html

I'm not trying to start an argument but how is this any different from a new teacher in any country? We just have different names for them. Monster parents in Japan, Helicopter parents in America and I'm sure the Brits and Aussies have their own lingo. If there is something that goes above and beyond the "Oh crap! Uni never prepared me for actually having to teach!!!" and the "Why can't I get them to do anything I ask them to do?!?!?" freak out then I would like to know that because it could effect how I would handle a first year teacher in Japan.

My ACP classes introduced me to the Fred Jones book Tools for Teaching and I'm wondering if it would be worth taking up precious space in my boxes/luggage.

[word]

Hi everyone,

I am a newly graduated teacher in Canada as of August of last year. As anyone would, I have indicated this on my application. I am sure this will be brought up in my interview. I am concerned as to what they will want to talk about. As of right now I don't really know too much about the way the Japanese Education System is conducted. I have been looking up information in the past month. What types of questions do you think that they will bring up to certified teachers? I haven't read through all the posts yet but I will. Also does any one have in links to any information about the Japanese Education System just so I could familiarize myself with them? Thanks!

Don't worry about trying to learn all sorts of nonsense about the Japanese educational system. Such knowledge will almost certainly be completely useless in the interview. They'll want to know your ideas, opinions, and convictions about teaching.

My interview was very heavily centered around my teaching ability, but the questions asked were not questions that I could have studied or for which I could have prepared. They were about me and my own views on teaching and international/intercultural exchange. Don't worry about this sort of thing. Just be honest and clear with them, and you'll be fine.

The stress on new teachers is incredible, and probably the cause of this sort of thing:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20111120a1.html

I'm not trying to start an argument but how is this any different from a new teacher in any country? We just have different names for them. Monster parents in Japan, Helicopter parents in America and I'm sure the Brits and Aussies have their own lingo. If there is something that goes above and beyond the "Oh crap! Uni never prepared me for actually having to teach!!!" and the "Why can't I get them to do anything I ask them to do?!?!?" freak out then I would like to know that because it could effect how I would handle a first year teacher in Japan.

Okay, try this on for size. Parent shows up at school with kid at 10a.m. He/she explains that the kid is late because "I'm not good at getting up in the morning." He/she requests that the homeroom teacher drop by each morning to make sure the kid is awake and getting ready for school. Yes, this is based on an actual example, and guess what... the teacher complied with this request.

One of my school's homeroom teachers regularly goes to one of her student's homes to retrieve said student, because if she doesn't, the student won't come to school, and the parents don't really care.

Or how about this? Kid is arrested at 3p.m., skipping school and vandalizing a vacant building. The police don't call the parents. They call the school. (I've been told that this is standard procedure in Japan.) The homeroom teacher is informed. The teacher and probably headmaster pick the kid up at the police station. Policeman gripes at headmaster and teacher briefly. Headmaster gripes at student AND teacher at length. Teacher gripes at the student for a while. The parents find out later that night, and furiously berate the teacher/headmaster/rest of the school for doing such a poor job of raising their child.

Or this? Parent calls teacher. Parent says, "I can't get ArseHat-kun to clean his room. He says he's going to play video games all day. Why haven't you done a better job of teaching him to obey his parents? I need for you to do better!"

These things aren't all THAT common, but they do happen.

So, let's take something that happens every day:

New teacher arrives at 7a.m. and is given dirty looks by the rest of the staff for arriving later than everyone else. He/she is expected to look busy all day. He/she does not stay in his/her own classroom; he/she must be in the staff room and appear to be busy all day. He/she is then expected to remain at school (looking busy) until AT LEAST 7p.m. that evening... and as a new teacher, he/she had better not be the first to leave. In fact, he/she will most likely be one of the last to leave, usually after 8p.m. at my school. He/she will work at this job for somewhere between three and five years, after which he/she will be forced to change schools--and will continue to do this every 3-5 years for the remainder of his/her career.

Teachers in Japan are expected to take part in/sponsor club activities, regularly attend staff events (even if they don't want to do so/have other plans), participate in school sporting, singing, and other athletic or performance events. Teachers in Japan are expected to maintain a high standard of behavior even off the job--sometimes to ridiculous extremes. I did something when I first arrived that seemed completely inconsequential, outside of school hours, yet I was required to apologize to my kyoto, kocho, and BoE on account of it. I was later told that I was treated delicately in the situation because I was a foreigner. Teachers in Japan work many, many more days than teachers in the US. During summer break, while most of the kids get nearly half a month off, the teachers are usually at work. During winter break, while most of the kids get two weeks off, the teachers are usually at work. During the academic break, when most of the kids have two weeks off, the teachers are usually at work. None of the teachers at my school have ever taken more than a week off. Ever. They certainly don't get two or three months off for summer. I know that not every teacher does in the 'States, either, but lots do... I always did!

Add to that the fact that there is virtually ZERO standardized support for new teachers outside of the occasional kind, informal mentor-teacher. In fact, quite the opposite; from what I've seen, new teachers are expected to perform well immediately upon arrival!

Keep in mind, also, that it is rare for people, especially teachers, to change careers in Japan. Becoming a teacher requires years of work and testing here... and once you're a teacher, it's difficult to become something else.

Look here, dude; whatever you think life in Japan is, you're wrong. It's easy to pass armchair-judgements based on the things you see posted on this forum (and others), but you'd do better to just keep an open mind before you show up here convinced that you already know "how it is" for new teachers. However you think you're gonna "handle" a first-year teacher in Japan is most likely a DUM idea. I'm not trying to offend you (well, not really), but you don't really have any idea what the culture around a Japanese school is actually like (individual school environments actually vary wildly). No biggie; neither did I ('course, I didn't talk out my arse about it on the internet, either). Until you get here and see what life is like for first-year teachers in Japan, though, why don't you avoid passing judgement? Teach here for two or three years, then see if you're any more sympathetic to the large percentages of first-year Japanese teachers who end up taking "crazy leave."

It doesn't matter wtf you think you learned in your Ed classes in uni (when I left uni, I felt like I was hot sh*t, too); a great deal of it is simply not gonna apply here. Some of it will, sure, but some of it sure isn't. Furthermore, you may or may not have influence of any sort in regards to classroom management, curriculum planning, assessment, educational methods, etc.

Lots of trained educators come here and find themselves frustrated and disheartened. Don't build some sort of mental image of what your work life is gonna be like, 'cause you'll probably just end up disappointing yourself somehow.

If you have a tendency to forget stuff you've read, such as the basic classroom management concepts that Jones advocates, then, sure, bring the book.

Here's some reading I often find useful; maybe you'll get something out of it, too:

Proverbs 17:28

(I'm agnostic (at best), but that certainly doesn't mean I'd ignore wisdom that can be found in ancient texts.)

[AVN]

I agree with word and I think the advice is good for other areas of JET not just teaching.

Don't try to imagine what life will be like, don't imagine you know what it will be like to live and work in Japan unless you already have. Even if you lived as a student in Japan remember that experience will be different but you're still in a better position to start to judge.
Don't try and think you know what life will be like even if you have read every thread on this forum.

There was a girl at orientation in Canada who to everything they said about life in Japan said 'oh that sounds just like Canada' 'we have those problems too' etc.
She went to Japan and left after three months. She could not handle the differences and she also went in with a very 'this won't be so bad' attitude.

I don't think you should go in in a state of fear but just go in open and humble.
Surprise is better than dissapointment.

As for the life of a teacher being different from Canada... It is 100% different.
The way they teach, the way students are brought up to learn, the expectations parents have, the responsibilities of the teacher and the students, it's all different.

When I worked at an Eikaiwa I had a mom bring in her unruly 4 year old and he got so crazy in the lobby I finally had to jump in and tell him no and ask him to sit down. The mother smiled and said to me 'Please teach my child manners and raise him well'. I wasn't even a teacher at the school and she flat out asked me to raise her kids, and, in a way, I did.
Though he was only well behaved when I was around, something the mother 'jokingly' complained about.

When the company went bankrupt and I lost my job she called me desperate to continue private tutoring her kids.

[Antonath]

Another for the "agrees with word" group. The saying about it taking a village to raise a child is embraced whole-heartedly in Japan, except it's more like "it takes a staffroom".

And no matter what you think the school environment will be, it will be different. Not because it's Japan instead of Canada or whatever, but because of The Forbidden Acronym (ESID).

[word]

I don't think you should go in in a state of fear but just go in open and humble.
Surprise is better than disappointment.

So, I was bein' all harsh earlier; I could've/should've made my point a lot more diplomatically. My apologies. Whale biologist!

Yeah, I completely agree with what these folks are sayin', too. I think the folks who have the most difficult time adjusting are the ones who have the most elaborate and well-intentioned plans for their life and career in Japan, while the folks who have the least difficult time are the ones who arrive with few expectations or preconceptions, if any, and just throw themselves into a given situation and do the best they can.

Sorry for the angry nature of my post.

word + rum + coke + internet forum =

*


*actual picture of word

[AVN]

I don't think you should go in in a state of fear but just go in open and humble.
Surprise is better than disappointment.

So, I was bein' all harsh earlier; I could've/should've made my point a lot more diplomatically. My apologies. Whale biologist!

Yeah, I completely agree with what these folks are sayin', too. I think the folks who have the most difficult time adjusting are the ones who have the most elaborate and well-intentioned plans for their life and career in Japan, while the folks who have the least difficult time are the ones who arrive with few expectations or preconceptions, if any, and just throw themselves into a given situation and do the best they can.

Sorry for the angry nature of my post.

word + rum + coke + internet forum =

*


*actual picture of word

Aww I never imagined you being so cute!

[Namisuke]

As an educator, what motivated you to apply for JET?

I worked in Japan and loved it and wanted to return for a longer period of time. I had been working my butt off to try to get a teaching job in my city only to come up empty handed. With my love of Japan and desperation to be in a classroom, this was a perfect fit.

As an educator, what are your impressions of the Japanese education system?

I can't say much that hasn't already been said. Education is much different here than in Canada, but the kids, no matter what country you are in, will be pretty much the same. Kids are kids. One big difference though is the lack of drugs outside of major cities in Japan. Kids don't have to worry so much about that here, so I am grateful for that. Major differences between schools in Canada and Japan include:
- serious school clubs that practice hard every day instead of a few times a week during the season.
- strongly lecture-based lessons instead of explorative learning techniques.
- serous test preparation instead of knowledge application projects.
- more uniform classes instead of mega diverse ones (I taught an ELA class composed of students with ADD, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, low English ability, and high academic ability - it is too much!)
- long work hours with a lot of pressure instead of short work hours with a strong union that teachers will use to get out of working during lunch and after school.
- uber teacher involvement in students' personal lives instead of having to struggle to get parents to talk to you.
- lack of treatment of special needs and bullied students instead of getting Educational Assistants and harsh penalties for bullying
- everything everyone else said (some was repeated here).

There are many more differences, but these things won't affect the average ALT much, if at all. Word said that you don't have to know anything about the educational system to work here, which is true. Heck, they barely even show you a curriculum at Tokyo Orientation. In 2010 a man talked about the differences between ES, JHS, and HS English, but it still left everyone in the dark. However, it does help to familiarize yourself with the problems you might face in Japan. It will prepare you for the interview questions, as well as life here. I was actually asked about my thoughts about the Japanese education system in my interview and what I wanted to do to change it (probably because I am a certified teacher). Because I had read the forums and what people had to say and rant about, I knew right away what my answer would be. Actually going and researching things will help you become more realistic.

My experience teaching with my JTEs has been awesome. I haven't had a bad JTE yet. They are all open-minded and let me do what I like, which is pretty lucky for me (and the students), I think. I have learned quite a bit from them. It is good to experience a completely different educational system so you can learn from the good and bad points of it to develop your own educational philosophy.

Are there any kernels of truth to the Japanese education system being superior to other nations?

I don't go to other classes or have the ability to understand them. I feel like the fact that teachers teach to the test makes them better at writing tests, but it isn't a perfect sign of the ability level of the students. I think the fact that kids have to write tests to get into certain schools helps teachers out a lot as students will be at the same level. Different schools have different focuses which is also cool. My boyfriend's school is MUCH more higher level than mine, and the behaviour of the students is different also. At his school you need a good grade to get in. At my schools, you do crossword puzzles (and I have been told for one of mine that if you can write your name, you are accepted). One of my schools is exempt from certain standards tests also because it is an at-risk school and the curriculum has to be altered. I am curious if they take part in the tests, and if so, if that skews things. Besides, Japan isn't #1 or superior to many other nations if you look at the reports. You can read about it on the MEXT site in their changes to the Course of Study documents.

Definitely one misconception about Japan, as Word has said, is the technology factor. That was one of my biggest surprises here. In one of my old schools, the computer I had to use was so old that it could not support Hotmail! Students never type up their assignments in any of my schools and hand-write everything. Technology is not included in the lessons teachers usually teach, either because they don't know how to use it and the school budget is so small that they cannot afford to even have screens in all the rooms. I teach in the newest school in my prefecture which opened last year, and it still has blackboards and no screens. I hear stories of other lucky ALTs who have nice things, but not where I am...

If you want to look into superior nations, check out Finland and research why they beat Japan's scores.